


Monochrome Flowers

by meiliariotz



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, My First Fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiliariotz/pseuds/meiliariotz
Summary: Eddie Brock wakes up one morning coughing up white flower petals. With Venom’s help he sets out to win back his ex. However, as the disease progresses and the petals darken in color, he begins to realize that these flowers aren’t for Anne.
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
Comments: 46
Kudos: 447





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic. Constructive criticism and comments are welcome and will help me improve!

Eddie woke up to a dull pain in his chest. As consciousness slowly returned to him the pain grew from a slightly annoying ache to something much more excruciating. Still, he wasn’t really worried until he heard Venom’s voice. 

**_“Wake up!”_ **

Venom sounded panicked. It was an emotion Eddie rarely saw the symbiote express, and it scared him. If Venom was worried, then something must be very wrong.

“Venom, what’s happening?” Eddie’s voice came out hoarse, as if there was something caught in his throat.

**_“There is a foreign body in our lungs. It is inhibiting oxygen intake-”_ **

Before Venom could finish speaking a fit of coughing overtook Eddie. He endured it with his hands cupped over his mouth. He could feel whatever was blocking his throat come loose. When the fit finally ended he brought his hands away from his face. Dread washed over him.

Cupped in Eddie’s hands was a collection of small, white flower petals. He blinked a few times, but every time he opened his eyes again they were still there. This was not good.

**_“Your pulse is quickening.”_ ** Venom’s voice cut through the panic.

“Yeah, no shit!” Eddie snapped

**_“You are scared. Tell me what is wrong.”_ **

Eddie took a deep breath. This brought on another coughing fit, but thankfully no more petals followed. He pulled his laptop close and did a quick search;

Hanahaki.

Immediately several articles showed up that would help explain his condition. Eddie clicked the first link, and read the description aloud; 

“An ailment caused by unrequited love, identifiable by coughing up flowers. Without medical intervention, this disease will become fatal.” 

Eddie stammered slightly at that final sentence. It was deathly quiet until Venom finally responded.

**_“Your life is in danger?”_ **

Eddie couldn’t summon the will to say yes, to confirm that this could kill him if he didn’t do something drastic, so he simply nodded.

**_“How do we cure it?”_ **

Eddie already knew the answer. He had done some reports on Hanahaki Disease back when he was doing journalism, but for Venom’s sake, he began typing. 

Searching ‘‘Hanahaki treatments’ brought up the expected results. The cure was well known, but it was by no means easy. The subject of the victim’s affection coming to return their feelings was the most common method of curing Hanahaki. 

**_“It is Anne, isn’t it?”_ **

Eddie was silent for a few moments. He had thought he was finally over that. Anne was happy with her new boyfriend, and Eddie couldn’t blame her. Dan was a kind person with a solid and secure profession. He was everything a woman could ask for.

But apparently Eddie really wasn’t over it. If he was, he wouldn’t be in this situation. 

**_“Do not worry Eddie. We will simply have to get her back.”_ **

“Hey, are you reading my thoughts again? What did I tell you about that?” 

**_“This is a desperate situation! I am not about to let such a perfect match die.”_ **

Eddie smiled despite everything. He liked it when Venom referred to him as a perfect match. There was something exclusive and reassuring about it.

“Alright, buddy,” Eddie said. “We’ll try your plan, but we have to start small.” 

He picked up his phone and began to dial Anne’s number. She was probably awake by now. Anne was always an early riser. Just as expected, she answered within a few seconds.

“Eddie? What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Nothing’s wrong Annie,” Eddie lied through his teeth, trying desperately to sound upbeat without triggering another fit. 

Anne sounded even more confused when she responded, “Uh, ok? Then why are you calling me?”

**_“Offer her food. Is that not a method of human courtship?”_ **

“Shush!” Eddie hissed before quickly regaining his composure, “Can’t I just call up a friend and chat? I’ve actually been thinking that maybe we could get lunch sometime.”

Anne was silent for a long time and Eddie quickly realized the awkwardness of his request. 

“Oh, not as a date or anything! I’ve just been feeling a bit cooped up in my apartment lately. It’s me and the parasite, y’know?” He quickly added 

**_“Eddie, you are defeating the purpose of our mission.”_ **

Eddie brought the phone away from his face. “What did I just say about taking it slow? Trust me, I know what I’m doing!” 

That was also a lie. Eddie has absolutely no idea what he was doing. Right now he was honestly just grateful that Venom hadn’t thrown a fit over the ‘parasite’ comment, but the sound of muffled speech brought his attention back to the phone. 

“I’m sorry Anne, what were you saying?,” he asked. .

“I said sure. I’ve been wanting to try out that new café that opened up a few blocks from my house, but Dan has been too busy with work to go,” she said. She seemed less suspicious, and that was a good sign.

“Oh, awesome! I know exactly what café you’re talking about! I’ll meet you there at noon,” Eddie said. Once again, he was lying.

“Sounds good. I’ve got to get back to work now, but I’ll see you then!” With that, Anne hung up. 

Eddie sighed and tried to shake off the guilt. It was just lunch, nothing romantic at all. But the hoarseness in his throat reminded him that it would have to become romantic sooner rather than later. What would he do if this plan failed? 

Eddie decided to ignore that possibility for now. It would only increase his stress, and that would help at all. However one thing he couldn’t ignore was his guilt.

Dan was a great guy. If this plan managed to succeed, and Anne took him back, how would Dan react? Would he be angry? Heartbroken? Maybe he would even understand. He was a doctor after all. Of all people, he would be the most understanding of Eddie’s actions.

**_“Your thoughts are racing. We need to calm down and prepare to win Anne back.”_ **

Venom's reassurance brought Eddie out of his anxious thoughts. He was going to take a deep breath, but caught himself before he brought on another bout of coughing.

“Alright. Let’s do this,” Eddie said, glancing towards his closet. He prayed that he had something a bit nicer than a hoodie to wear.


	2. Chapter 2

It took much longer than expected to locate the café Anne was talking about. It probably would have helped if Eddie had simply asked where it was instead of acting like he knew everything about the place. However Eddie and Venom were never ones to do things the easy way- or the smartest way. 

They had gone out about an hour early to find the place. Although Eddie didn’t know the name of the establishment, he managed to find one that seemed to fit Anne’s description. A little café that had recently opened. Bold letters in the storefront read ‘Wide Awake Café,’ and several chalkboards proudly displayed the drinks and specials of the day; Lattes, Cappuccinos, Iced coffee, etcetera. 

**“Why do humans have so many names for the same type of liquid?”**

Eddie honestly didn’t have much expertise on the matter, but he did his best to explain. “Some drinks have more or less caffeine, others are flavored with caramel or chocolate-”

**“Chocolate?”**

Eddie immediately sighed, realizing his mistake. 

**“We want the chocolate caffeine, Eddie.”**

“We can get it after lunch, alright? Don’t forget our main goal here.” he said. Eddie anxiously glanced around the storefront. Where was Anne? Had they showed up at the wrong place after all?

Eddie examined himself in the large windows of the building. It turned out the nicest thing he had to wear was a black v-neck. Luckily this café didn’t look too fancy, but he still felt self conscious. Venom obviously took notice.

**“We look good.”**

It was an abrupt, almost curt statement, but Eddie had been bonded to the symbiote long enough to know that it was meant to be reassuring. 

“Thanks Venom,” he said.

Eddie apparently forgot that the window was, in fact, a window, and not a mirror, for he had been staring at himself long enough to catch the barista’s attention. The two made eye contact for a second before he awkwardly waved and turned away, probably leaving the barista confused as to why some guy was staring blankly through her shop windows. 

“Eddie!” 

Anne’s voice drew his attention away from his embarrassment . When Eddie caught sight of her he was relieved. She was dressed as casually as he was. 

“Sorry I’m late,” she said as they entered the shop. “I had to catch up on some work.”

“No problem, Annie. I was just worried I showed up at the wrong place,” he said.

Anne gave him a strange look. “I thought you were already familiar with this café.”

Eddie mentally slapped himself, but luckily Anne seemed to forget about it when they began to order. It was typical café fare, little triangular sandwiches.

**“Why are these so small? Human meat provides more nutrients than this pathetic excuse for a meal.”**

Eddie muttered something along the lines of ‘be quiet’ and offered Anne an apologetic glance. 

“Let me guess, he’s complaining about the size of the food,” Anne said, rolling her eyes. 

“Actually, yes,” Eddie said, “How did you know?”

“I had him in my head for a while too during the whole Life Foundation mess,” Anne looked around to see if anyone was nearby before continuing, “I still can’t believe he made me bite someone’s head off.”

Eddie laughed, “Yeah, that’s not the most pleasant experience… but at least we got that kiss?” 

A few moments of silence followed, and Eddie worries that maybe he had pushed too far. Anne took a sip of coffee before finally responding.

“Eddie, I thought we weren’t gonna bring that up again. I wasn’t joking when I said it wasn’t my idea,” she muttered. 

**“She is not lying.”**

“I’m sorry, what?” Eddie said.

Anne was about to respond before Eddie shook his head and she realized he wasn’t talking to her. 

**“It was my idea.”**

Eddie waited for some further explanation from Venom, but none came. He sighed. “Never mind. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

Anne nodded, seeming to accept his apology, but the awkward tone didn’t dissipate. Anne seemed to finish her meal a bit quicker than usual and began to check her phone. 

“Well, I should probably get back to work before my break time runs out,” she said, starting to reach into her purse.

“Uh, wait! I’ll pay for you,” Eddie said. Anne gave him a suspicious look. 

“Please,” he continued, “I was the one who suggested going out in the first place.”

Anne sighed. “Alright, but I’m gonna pay you back, ok?” 

She was on her way out the door before Eddie had the chance to argue. He stared down at his plate and groaned in frustration. “That was extremely awkward.” 

**“Yes, it was. Now can we get the chocolate caffeine?”**

“Fine, but only if you explain that kiss thing to me.” Eddie said, checking that his area of the café was empty. 

Venom made a noise similar to an exasperated sigh. It almost made Eddie laugh, because for once, he was being the nuisance in their strange relationship.

**“We thought it would speed up the transfer from Anne’s body to yours.”**

“Oh really?” Eddie didn’t sound convinced, and Venom’s refusal to comment more on the matter only added to his suspicion. However now wasn’t the time to push the issue. 

They still had to figure out how to win Anne back before the flowers overtook Eddie’s body, and this awkward pseudo-date hadn’t offered any new ideas. 

Eddie fished some money out of his wallet to pay for their food - plus a chocolate hazelnut coffee to go.

—

Eddie woke up around 2:00 AM, chest bringing as if his lungs were full of hot ash and razors. The coughing started almost immediately, and it only exacerbated the pain. 

**“Eddie! Eddie!”**

Venom sounded panicked again, but Eddie couldn’t catch his breath long enough to reassure the symbiote that everything was alright. Even if he could, Venom would know he was lying, because everything was most certainly  _ not alright. _

Eddie covered his mouth when he felt the soft, unmistakable texture of petals on the back of his tongue. He scrambled for a light with his free hand in the darkness of his apartment. When he finally found the switch the coughing had diminished to a quiet wheezing. 

In his hand was a collection of both white and darker grey pearlescent petals, but what alarmed Eddie most was a whole, intact flower that he had coughed up. It meant the disease was progressing faster than he anticipated. 

**“Eddie. We will fix this,”**

Before he could ask what Venom meant, Eddie felt warmth pooling in the middle of his chest. It wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact it actually soothed the burning until almost no pain remained. 

“Venom, what are you doing?” He asked.

**“Helping. It is unpleasant to see you in pain.”**

“Thank you,” he whispered. He took a seat on the couch, staring off into the distance for a while with a hand pressed to his chest. 

**“Are we going back to sleep?”**

“No. Not right now,” Eddie said.

Eddie didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t want to talk about Anne either. He didn’t want to think about the disease, or the fact that there was a real possibility that Venom might need to find another host soon.

**“We will not have any other host.”**

The warmth around his chest tightened, but not painfully. It was almost like a hug. 

**“We only want you Eddie.”**

Eddie smiled sadly, unwilling to berate Venom for intruding into his thoughts again. Leaning back on the couch, he relished the soothing warmth until he finally fell back asleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. AP tests have ended for me, so I should be able to write more often.

Eddie woke up late in the day, thankful for the lack of any coughing or flowers. Venom remained concentrated around Eddie’s chest, keeping the disease from progressing for as long as he could. 

It wasn’t long before Eddie was back on his laptop, desperately searching for alternate methods of curing Hanahaki. There were very few. Most surgeries were too expensive for him to afford or too experimental for him to trust. There was also the fact that Eddie had no idea how Venom would react to anesthesia. 

He could already imagine him waking up to a hospital room full of headless hospital staff. Yeah, surgery definitely wasn’t an option. 

A text alert drew Eddie’s attention away from the computer screen. Picking up his phone, he saw that it was from Anne. He was surprised she was contacting him so soon after their last meeting. 

Eddie read over her text a few times before sighing and placing his head in his hands. 

**“What is wrong?”**

“Anne’s inviting us out to some restaurant. She says it’s a way to make us even, even though I told her she didn’t have to pay me back,” Eddie said.

**“You are upset? Is this not a good thing, given your condition?”**

“Dan is gonna be there,” Eddie said. 

Venom was silent for a very long time before finally responding. 

**“Are you sure we can not eat him?”**

“No! Absolutely not!” Eddie yelled. “We only eat bad people!”

He rubbed his temples. The day had barely begun and he was already stressed enough to bring on a headache. 

“Listen, at least Anne is the one doing the inviting,” Eddie said, trying to see the good in the situation. “It would have been way too suspicious if we were to ask her out repeatedly.”

**“I suppose that is true.”**

Venom didn’t sound very convinced, and Eddie didn’t blame him. He could tell that he was desperately grasping for a bright side when there really was none.

He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was 3:00 pm. There was a few hours to kill before it was time to meet Anne and Dan at the restaurant, and Eddie really didn’t want to spend it sitting in his apartment dwelling on the illness that was consuming him. 

He glanced out the window at his motorcycle. It had been quite a while since he used it.

**“We would also like to go out, Eddie.”**

**“** You’re reading my thoughts again,” Eddie replied, trying to sound annoyed, but he couldn’t hide his smile as he grabbed the key to his vehicle and his helmet. 

He was out the door and down the building stairs in what felt like an instant. Eddie took a deep breath of fresh air and got onto his motorcycle, revving the engine and taking off down the road. 

He had no idea where he was going, but it didn’t really matter. He simply relished the feeling rushing wind. As he rode around the city streets. It felt amazing to just speed around town with no destination and no problems in mind. 

**“This is much more peaceful, when we aren’t running away from something”**

“Yeah, most things are more peaceful when there’s not a massive organization out to kill you,” Eddie hummed in agreement, recalling the vehicle chase that went down between them and the Life Foundation. 

**“But we did not get killed. We survived.”**

Eddie nodded, a red light bringing them to a stop. The sudden loss of motion brought him back to reality, and Venom took notice.

**“You are thinking about the disease again. I am keeping it in check.”**

“Yeah, I know, but for how long can you keep it in check?” Eddie asked. 

**“Eddie.”**

His name was spoken like a warning, but it was not threatening. It seemed to just be the only way Venom could tell Eddie not to worry. Still, Eddie knew that as the flowers grew more, even Venom wouldn’t be able to keep them at bay. 

Yet again, Eddie found himself thinking about what would happen to the symbiote if the Hanahaki were to kill him. Venom would need a new host, but who?

Venom put a stop to those thoughts almost as soon as they popped into Eddie’s mind, his voice taking on an annoyed growl, yet still somewhat soothing. 

**“Eddie. We survived the Life Foundation. We survived Riot. We will survive this too.”**

Eddie sighed. It was clear that Venom would not tolerate the concept of a new host anytime soon. The subject would need to be dropped.

“Alright, fine! I’ll stop thinking of backup hosts, for now,” Eddie muttered.

**“No! You will stop thinking of backup hosts completely!”**

“Venom, I’m sorry, but I think we need to come to terms with the fact that this thing will probably kill me! Don’t you think we should at least have some kind of backup plan?” Eddie almost started shouting, but an odd look from a driver stopped next to him made him lower his voice.

**“You are a good match Eddie. You are rare. Our species rarely experiences something so perfect.”**

Eddie couldn’t help but scoff. He wouldn’t use the word perfect to describe himself. When Venom first took him as a host he was a complete mess. Even now he was only slightly less of a mess. 

**“Do not think so lowly of yourself Eddie. You are important to me, that is all that matters. I think you’re perfect.”**

Just as Venom could read Eddie’s emotions, Eddie had learned to do the same with the symbiote. He could tell there was more Venom wanted to say, but he remained quiet. A car horn brought an abrupt end to the conversation. The light had turned green. 

“Look, I appreciate that you see me that way.” Eddie said. It wasn’t a lie. The way Venom spoke about him made Eddie roll his eyes in exasperation, but he couldn’t ignore how it lifted his spirits, even in such a hopeless situation. 

A few more hours of driving passed by in silence before Eddie pulled over and checked the time. The hours had really flown by. Despite the dread Eddie felt at the thought of meeting up with Anne and Dan, he knew he couldn’t just ditch them. 

Revving up the vehicle, Eddie sped in the direction of the restaurant, mentally preparing himself for whatever may occur.

  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Eddie stood next to his motorcycle in the parking lot in front of the restaurant. He stared into space, then turned his gaze to the establishment’s neon sign. It was only when he found himself counting the cars in the parking lot that he finally realized how much effort he was putting into procrastinating. 

**“Should we not go inside?”**

“Yes. Yes we should,” Eddie said monotonously. He heaved a sigh and approached the restaurant. 

Eddie approached the glass double doors. Upon entering he immediately spotted Anne and Dan sitting at a table near the front desk. Anne waved when she noticed him. He took his seat wordlessly, but kept a pleasant smile on his face.

Dan returned Eddie’s smile tenfold and completely genuinely. He was dressed nicely. Some may even consider it too nice for the setting- it was really a simple diner- but Dan somehow made it work. It was no wonder Anne was so taken with him. 

“Sorry I’m late,” Eddie said. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long” 

“Oh no, it’s fine! We actually just arrived a few moments ago,” Anne responded, waving her hand dismissively. 

Eddie knew she wasn’t telling the truth. If they had arrived when she said they did, then he would have seen their car pull into the parking lot, but he wasn’t about to call her out in it. She was just being polite. 

Thankfully, the awkwardness of their last outing wasn’t present today. It was mostly thanks to Dan. He was bearing most of the weight when it came to the flow of conversation. He and Anne chatted about drama in their individual workplaces and Eddie found himself staring down at the menu, but not really reading any of it.

‘She’s so happy with him,’ Eddie thought.

**“Eddie, thinking like that will just make you feel guilty.”**

‘It’s too late for that! I already feel that way.’

**“We are wasting time! Look at them Eddie. They are just growing closer to each other the longer you refuse to do anything!”**

Eddie did look at them. He saw how easily Dan made Anne laugh. He saw how Dan seemed to swell with pride whenever Anne gushed about a recent patient he had managed to save. For the first time Eddie realized how truly happy they were together, and he realized something else. Something strange.

He felt happy for them. Confusion suddenly overtook him. He felt happy for them? That didn’t make sense. He should be heartbroken, or at the very least jealous, but he wasn’t. 

**“Eddie?”**

Venom sounded as bewildered as Eddie felt. He was obviously tapping into his thoughts again, but Eddie didn’t even care. This newfound discovery had huge implications, some of which were very concerning.

His thoughts were going a mile a minute, ‘The flowers weren’t for Anne. I wouldn’t be feeling like this if they were, but then who-‘

“Eddie? Are you alright?” 

Anne’s voice interrupted Eddie’s train of thought, but it did not put a stop to his panic. Still, he tried to hide it. 

“I’m fine,” he said. He didn’t sound convincing, even to himself. His jaw was clenched and his chest felt tight as dozens of questions bombarded his mind. 

There was only one thing Eddie knew for sure, and it was that Anne wasn’t the cause of the Hanahaki, but that only opened up more questions. Who else could it be? 

Eddie didn’t remember ordering his food. He didn’t even remember the waitress setting the food in front of him. He was too preoccupied with confusion, which was quickly growing into full blown panic. At least Dan and Anne didn’t seem to notice, or maybe they were both just too polite to bring it up. 

**“It must be Anne.”**

Eddie only shook his head slightly in response. 

**“Who else could it be? I know everything about you Eddie. When I first took you as a host, I could sense how much you missed her.”**

‘People change, Venom,’ Eddie thought. ‘If you really know everything about me, then you should know that I don’t feel that way anymore. Go on and poke around in my head if that’ll convince you.’

Venom went silent for a moment. It was as if he was taking a moment to do exactly what Eddie suggested. After a while Eddie heard a frustrated growl. The tightness in Eddie’s chest only grew.

‘Look, we can’t talk about this right now. I’ll focus on the meal, you focus on keeping those flowers in check, and we can discuss it when we get home,’ Eddie thought, quickly shifting his expression to that of a pleasant smile when Anne glanced at him momentarily. 

However his smile didn’t last long. The tightness in his chest wasn’t diminishing. In fact, it was becoming rather suffocating. 

‘I’m just anxious. I just need to breathe,’’ He thought, but deep down he knew it wasn’t. His breathing became shallow as he realized that the flowers were already growing too fast for Venom to handle. 

“Eddie, are you sure you’re alright? You’ve barely touched your food,” Anne said. 

Eddie stood up slightly faster than he meant to, causing some silverware to fall loudly to the floor, and he cringed as it drew the attention of some nearby patrons. 

“I just need some fresh air,” Eddie said, pulling himself together long enough to walk briskly out the front door. The moment he was outside he started coughing. 

**“We allowed ourselves to become distracted. Stay calm, we will fix this.”**

Eddie felt Venom settle within his chest again, and the coughing subsided. He took a few deep breaths of cool air and stared out at the horizon, trying to focus on anything to distract him from the scene he just caused. 

His gaze drifted to the parking lot, and eventually to his motorcycle. For a moment Eddie seriously considered just fleeing the restaurant, but that train of thought was brought to a halt with the opening of the restaurant door and the clicking of heels approaching.

“Eddie, what is going on?” Anne asked. Her tone was one of annoyance, but her expression displayed concern. Eddie sighed, glancing down. 

“Anne, there’s something I should tell you,” he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. Now that he knew the flowers weren’t for Anne, she might as well know what was going on. Her concern deepened and she placed a hand on Eddie’s shoulder.

“So there is something wrong. I could tell something was off,” She said. Eddie remained silent, unsure how to begin explaining his situation. 

“Eddie, please, just tell me the truth. I want to help,” Anne said, encouraging him to go on.

Eddie opened his mouth, ready to come clean about everything, but found himself unable to form words. He grasped his chest, the tightness returning with a crushing vengeance. Eddie doubled over, violently coughing.

“Oh god, Eddie,” Anne gasped, patting his back softly, assuming he had fallen into a simple coughing fit. That assumption disappeared when Eddie proceeded to fall to his knees, wheezing harshly. 

He covered his mouth, and when he removed his hand he was holding something. It was dark grey, almost black, and it was unmistakably a fully formed flower. Blood speckled the petals, creating a strange dappled pattern. 

“Oh shit!” Anne gasped, recoiling when she saw the flower. She glanced around, as if unsure what to do.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” She yelled. Eddie barely heard her, and his vision was becoming spotty as he struggled to take in air. He thought he heard her running back into the restaurant. She was saying something about getting Dan, or an ambulance, or some other kind of help, but her voice seemed to fade in and out. 

Eddie’s will to stay conscious was quickly failing. Venom’s voice cut through his dazed mind like a knife, and his tone scared Eddie more than his words. He had never heard Venom sound so saddened, so defeated. One could almost call it heartbroken.

**“I am sorry Eddie. I was not strong enough”**

The sound of approaching sirens in the distance was the last thing Eddie heard before losing consciousness. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I’m the CEO of just realizing that the Inbox exists. I’ve been reading the comments anyway, but just seeing all of them at once in the Inbox made me so happy, like a concentrated burst of positivity! Thank you all for the feedback! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a Happy Pride Month!

Eddie drifted in and out of consciousness for most of the trip to the hospital. He remembered the sound of sirens. He remembered the motion of the ambulance rushing him to the hospital, and remembered Anne being next during that trip, speaking to him, but none of it was coherent. 

When he finally woke up he was in a hospital bed. His mouth felt dry, and he coughed a few times to clear his throat. Despite this, he found that he was able to breathe much easier. A dull ache accompanied each inhale and exhale, but Eddie didn’t feel like he was constantly on the verge of another fit. 

He sat in the hospital room silently, unsure if he should call for someone or wait patiently. Just as he was about to look for the call button he heard a knock at the door followed by the squeak of its hinges. 

Dan walked in, now changed into medical garb, holding several papers, and looking very official overall. The sight of a familiar face put Eddie at ease. Dan startled slightly when he turned to face him.

“I didn’t expect you to be up so soon! I’m sorry you had to wake up alone,” Dan said, quickly regaining his composure. 

“What happened?” Eddie asked, “I remember passing out in front of the restaurant, but everything else is a blur.”

“Well, you were admitted around midnight. We ran a few tests just to confirm a diagnosis. Considering what happened at the restaurant I assume you already know what that diagnosis is,” Dan said. 

Eddie nodded. An awkward silence fell over the room. Dan looked down at his notes before speaking again.

“Eddie, I know this is less than professional of me, but I need to ask, is it Annie?”

“No,” Eddie said. Dan’s eyes brightened, an expression of surprise and relief on his face. It was quickly replaced by confusion when Eddie spoke again, “I don’t know who it is.”

“What do you mean? Most sufferers of Hanahaki know exactly who-“ 

“Yeah, I know!,” Eddie snapped. “I’ve done more than enough research on this thing, I don’t know why I’m different. Maybe it’s a weird strain, or some other official, science-related explanation.”

Eddie sighed, trying to calm himself down. He knew that getting upset would only cause more pain. Dan took a pen out of his coat pocket and wrote something down in his notes. He tapped the pen to his chin a few times, obviously deep in thought.

“Well, if you’ve done as much research as you say, then you know there are also surgical methods of curing Hanahaki,” Dan said after a few moments of silence. 

“Yeah I know, but I don’t know how Venom is gonna react to something like that…” Eddie trailed off. Why hadn’t Venom said anything since he woke up?

Eddie suddenly remembered what Dan said about him ‘waking up alone.’ Dan knew about Venom’s existence. He wouldn’t have said something like that unless…

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot to tell you! Don’t panic, he’s fine!” Dan said. He had noticed Eddie’s growing panic. 

“He needs a host to survive…” Eddie muttered.

“And he has one! He’s with Anne,” Dan said. “He transferred over to her during the ambulance ride. 

Eddie sighed in relief. He couldn’t imagine how much effort it must have taken on Anne’s part to get the symbiote to leave him. 

“She must have been very convincing,” Eddie said. 

Dan nodded and began flipping through his notes before finding a specific document and placing it on a bedside table. He cleared his throat, returning to the previous subject of conversation. 

“I’m not going to lie, Eddie. I really expected the cause of all this to be your unrequited feelings for Anne, but if you’re sure it’s not-“

“It’s not,” Eddie said firmly. 

“I know, I believe you. It just complicates things. Not that Hanahaki isn’t complicated enough as it is,” Dan said. He pressed his fingers into his temple, deep in thought.

“That paper next to you,” he said, motioning to the table, “is an overview of a surgery that will remove the flowers. Like all Hanahaki related operations, it’s experimental, but it’s one of the most reliable ones out there.”

Eddie picked up the paper. He saw the long string of numbers detailing the price, and quickly decided to avert his eyes to a different area of the document. 

“I hate to rush you, but given how far the disease has progressed, we’re going to need an answer pretty soon,” Dan said. 

“Yeah, I understand. Thanks Dan.” Eddie said, not really paying attention. He had made it to the section of the document that detailed everything that could go wrong, in rather horrific detail. 

With a shudder, Eddie placed the paper to the side, not wanting to read any further. 

“Dan, could I have some time alone to think this through?” Eddie asked.

Dan nodded, and turned to leave the room. He placed his hand on the doorknob, but hesitated to open it. He turned back around to face Eddie.

“I know that going under any kind of surgery is nerve racking, especially one so new, but it’s the best we can do,” Dan said. He thought for a moment, then went on, 

“Once again, this is a bit unprofessional of me-“ 

“Dan, you and Anne have been through a lot, especially involving me. Don’t forget that there was a literal alien roaming around your hospital for a while after the incident with the MRI. That same alien is now living in your girlfriend,” Eddie said. Dan cringed slightly. 

Eddie sighed. “My point is, you have every right to drop your ‘professionalism.’” 

“Alright. Well, I was just gonna say that you have mine and Anne’s support. Emotionally or financially,” Dan said. 

“I know, Dan. Thank you,” Eddie responded, offering the first genuine smile he had since waking up. 

Dan nodded before finally exiting the room. Only a few minutes passed before Eddie found himself missing Venom. Without the symbiote, Eddie was left with nothing but the document by his bedside and his own thoughts. 

—

Anne had begun her own research on Hanahaki disease. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with what she found, but it was better than pacing aimlessly around her kitchen. 

Unfortunately, every search she typed into her computer did nothing to ease her mind. If anything it just filled her with more dread. 

She slammed her laptop closed after coming across an article with some particularly graphic images of late stage Hanahaki. She heard her phone buzz and quickly snatched it up, eager to distract herself from what she just saw. 

‘On my way home. I talked to Eddie. He says your not the cause, but he doesn’t know who is.’

Anne sighed in relief as she read the text. She hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that this whole thing was her fault, so this lifted a huge weight off her shoulders, but the relief didn’t last long. Eddie was still suffering, and not even he knew why. 

**“Ask Dan if he can cure Eddie.”**

Anne nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn’t gotten used to having the symbiote’s voice in her head. It didn’t help that Venom had barely spoken to her since she took him from Eddie, and his uncharacteristic silence was putting her on edge. 

“We should wait until he gets home. Dan doesn’t like to text and drive,” Anne said. She considered returning to her laptop for a moment, but decided against it. 

**“We need to know if Eddie is alright.”**

Venom’s voice was firm, like a parent speaking to a toddler. Anne put her hands to her face, leaned on the kitchen counter and heaved a deep sigh. She glanced at her front window. Even though her blinds were shut she couldn’t help but feel self conscious. To an outside observer, it would look like she was having a conversation with no one. She wondered how Eddie managed this constantly. 

“I promise we’ll talk as soon as Dan gets back. I’ll have him answer all your questions, alright?” Anne asked. Venom offered no response. 

“Look I know this is scary, but Dan is a great doctor” she paused. Offering reassurance to an alien being was way beyond her area of expertise, but she continued anyway, “I know how much you care about Eddie. I’m worried too, but I’m sure everything will be alright.”

If Venom could tell that Anne was lying to herself, then he made no mention of it. In fact he didn’t respond at all. A tense silence reigned over the apartment, both unwilling to discuss the matter further, in fear that they may begin to consider less favorable outcomes.

  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Eddie woke up in the middle of the night. For a few moments he didn’t know where he was. After glancing around he recognized the hospital room and recalled the events of the last few days somberly. It was as if he was hoping to wake up from a bad dream.

The moment he sat up he felt the urge to cough in the back of his throat. He gripped the edge of his bed, prepared to withstand another fit. However he only coughed a few times before the fit subsided. The pain, while still present, was nowhere near as excruciating as it was before.

Still, Eddie felt something on his tongue. He removed the object to see exactly what he expected, a collection of flower petals, but something felt off. He reached to his bedside, flicking on a light switch and looking closely at the petals. 

Unlike the ones he coughed up at the restaurant, these petals looked wrinkled, like a plant that hadn’t been watered for a long time. Eddie also realized that they weren’t fully formed flowers like before. 

He placed the petals on his bedside table. Despite his careful touch, they began to tear. They were incredibly delicate. 

“What is going on?” Eddie said to himself. His question seemed to echo loudly in the pure silence of the hospital room, despite his voice being barely above a whisper. He stared at the petals, as if he could will the inanimate objects to answer his question. 

Of course no answers were given. Eddie laid back down, staring at the ceiling and hoping that sleep would eventually return to him. When morning came, he could ask Dan about the strange, crumbling petals. 

—

The high pitched whistle of a tea kettle radiated throughout Anne’s apartment. With some effort she hauled herself off the couch, placing the book she was reading to the side. 

Anne poured herself a hot cup of tea. She was trying her best to relax for today. Staying up late waiting for Dan to get home had sapped her of her energy. To make it worse, when he finally did get home he offered few answers, and the answers he did have only left more questions.

Eddie had Hanahaki, that much she had guessed. After all, no other illness caused someone to cough up flowers. However it wasn’t for her. It didn’t seem to be  _ for  _ anyone, according to Dan, which left only surgery as an option. A highly experimental surgery.

That was what truly scared Anne, and Venom wasn’t too fond of the idea either. He practically spent the whole night making Anne interrogate Dan, and he was never satisfied with the response he received. 

Of course it was no surprise that Anne ended up sleeping through her alarm that morning. She decided to call in sick. She was too tired to focus, and even if she was well rested, having her body rented out to an alien probably wouldn’t be the best condition for efficient work. 

As the day went on Anne became grateful that she had called in sick. She seemed to be catching a cold. Maybe it was due to stress, or maybe it was just bad luck. Either way, she hoped that the tea would help soothe her throat.

**“You are consuming boiled leaf water?”**

Anne nearly spilled the tea all over the countertop. When she first took Venom she was worried that she would have to deal with his voice constantly, and was grateful when he turned out to be relatively quiet. Now Anne wished that he would talk more often, if only for her to not be so startled every time he spoke. 

It didn't help that the phrase ‘boiled leaf water’ was something she was thoroughly unprepared for.

“It’s called tea,” she said, trying to regain her composure. 

**“Humans taste better.”**

“Oh no, we will not be repeating that!” Anne said, shuddering as she recalled the Life Foundation incident, specifically the part where Venom made her bite the head off of a Life Foundation agent. 

**“We did it to save Eddie.”**

“Oh, that’s right. You can read my thoughts,” Anne said. She stared into the teacup for a few moments in silence.

“Hey, you like sweet stuff, right?” She asked.

**“We like chocolate.”**

“Yes, and chocolate is sweet,” Anne said, beginning to fish around in her cabinets. After a while she retrieved a small, beehive-shaped bottle. 

“Here, this should make the, um, ‘leaf water’ more palatable,” she said, spooning a fairly large amount of honey into the cup. 

Venom didn’t respond, but he also didn’t complain as Anne began to sip the tea, so she counted it as a win. 

—

Eddie didn’t like the MRI. It was incredibly claustrophobic, and he could understand why someone would freak out in it, even without a sound-sensitive symbiote inhabiting their body. 

Eddie wasn’t expecting Dan to react so strongly when he told him about the wrinkled petals. Of course they barely resembled petals by the time Dan saw them, now brown, crumbling, and almost completely dead on his bedside table. However Dan took one look at the dying plant matter and rushed Eddie off for a multitude of tests, finally ending with the dreaded MRI. 

Dan refused to tell Eddie what these tests were for, and that only heightened his paranoia. And so here he was, in the MRI tube with barely an inch of empty space around him and no idea what was going on. 

After what felt like hours, he was removed from the machine. Dan entered the room with a look of pure astonishment on his face, and Eddie once again dared to ask what all the tests were for.

“I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to give you false hope,” Dan paused, fiddling with the paper results, looking at them as if he were afraid they would disappear. “The flowers are dying.” 

“Is that a good thing?” Eddie asked.

“Yes! It absolutely is! Eddie, if they keep dying at this rate, then we won’t even need to operate,” Dan said, a smile slowly growing on his lips. 

Eddie didn’t know what to say. He was confused. Hanahaki didn’t just die out, but his confusion was soon eclipsed by his relief. No, relief was an understatement. He was overjoyed. He simply had no words to describe how he felt. Dan seemed to be at a loss for words as well.

“This is incredible. I have no idea if something like this has ever happened before. A Hanahaki infection that just dies? This could be a massive breakthrough,” the words spilled out of Dan’s mouth a mile a minute, continuing even as Eddie was taken back to his hospital room.

“We’re going to keep you for observation for a few days. You might have more coughing, but any plant matter present should be dead…” Dan went on and on about what Eddie should expect in the coming days, but his voice faded into the background. Eddie was lost in thoughts of getting back to his normal life. 

‘Venom. He’ll be so relieved that I’m alright,’ Eddie thought. He felt a pang of sadness as he remembered the symbiote’s last words to him before he blacked out in front of the restaurant. 

“Eddie? Do you understand?” Dan asked. Eddie shook his head slightly, suddenly aware that the doctor was speaking to him. 

“Oh, uh, yeah! Expect some more coughing, let you know if anything changes, etcetera,” Eddie said with a dismissive wave of his hand. 

“Exactly! I’ll leave you alone for now, My coworkers might be back in to check on you a few times throughout the day,” Dan said. With a grin he turned and left the room. 

Eddie stared at the ceiling, for a while before turning on the small hospital room television. The cartoonish sound effects of some game show melted into background noise as Eddie became lost in his thoughts again. 

‘I’ll be back soon, Venom.’

—

The day went on, the sun was beginning to set, and a tension you could cut with a knife reigned over Anne’s apartment building for what seemed like an eternity. 

“It wasn’t Eddie,” Anne said, her voice raspy with the effort it took for her to finally break the tense silence. When she received no response she continued,

_ “Eddie wasn’t the one who was sick.”  _

Venom still didn’t speak, but Anne could feel his presence stir, maybe with discomfort, or maybe with shame. Either way, Anne was left sitting on her bathroom floor in bitter silence, blood trickling from her mouth and onto the pitch black flowers she held in her shaking hands. 

  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Anne had never imagined she would find herself coughing up flowers. She had always viewed Hanahaki as a disease for hopeless romantics, something that didn’t consider herself to be. However, this was no ordinary case. 

“Venom, answer me, please,” she said. 

**“We need to think about what to do. We need time.”**

“We don’t have time!” Anne yelled, “We need help. We need to talk to Dan”

Even as Anne spoke she knew that Dan may not be able to help. Sure, he knew how to operate and run tests and set broken bones, but he was a  _ human  _ doctor. He studied  _ human  _ physiology. There was little to nothing that he would be able to do for Venom.

**“Dan will be of no help, and you know that.”**

“Goddamnit,” Anne hissed, clenching her hand into a fist and crushing the pitch black petals she held. It was difficult to reason with a creature that could read her mind. She couldn’t hide the doubts she had in her own argument. 

**“We can keep the flowers from growing, just like I did with Eddie.”**

“But that didn’t work! You weren’t able to keep the flowers in check for more than a day!” Anne said. 

Venom seemed to recoil, falling silent once again. For a moment Anne almost felt as if she could sense what he was feeling, something similar to guilt. Venom was clearly still hurt about his inability to keep Eddie healthy, and Anne had just rubbed salt in those wounds. 

**“We know. We could not keep Eddie safe. We wanted to, but we failed.”**

Venom sounded so hurt. Anne began to regret bringing up the incident at the restaurant.

**“You know we want nothing more than for Eddie to be safe. We care deeply for him.”**

“You love him?” Anne hadn’t had the chance to fully process the question before she asked it. Again, Venom went silent, but that silence spoke volumes to Anne.

It was true that Venom could read Anne’s thoughts, but every so often she felt something from him too. They were small flickers of emotion. She recalled how distraught Venom was when she first took him from Eddie, the panic as they waited for Dan to get home from the hospital the night Eddie was admitted, and the fear that they both shared when they heard that he may have to undergo surgery. 

However what Anne sensed most was longing. It was so constant that it became like background noise for her, but now she realized how important it was. 

“You do love him,” it was spoken as a statement, true and irrefutable. 

Venom still offered no response, and Anne didn’t have the chance to wait for one. The sound Dan’s car pulling up to the apartment caused her to jump up from the tile floor. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed. She placed the crushed flowers in the sink and watched as they circled the drain before disappearing into the dark.

Anne wasn’t going to tell Dan. She had finally admitted to herself that he wouldn’t be of much help. Not only that, but bringing even more people into this probably wouldn’t make Venom any more willing to confess. 

Any situation involving love was a fragile one, even more so when Hanahaki was involved. She would need to handle this delicately, and that unfortunately meant lying to Dan.

—

Eddie understood why Dan wanted to keep him for observation, but it didn’t make the experience any less tedious. 

Still, he was too thankful to complain. He literally overcame a disease that was almost always fatal. If Eddie really wanted to be dramatic, he could even say he beat death. As such, he wouldn't dare complain about boredom, or about the quality of hospital food. Even if it was pretty awful. 

The one thing that bothered Eddie the most was waiting to get back to Venom. He had started talking to himself several times throughout the day, forgetting that the symbiote was no longer with him. 

“I miss you,” he whispered to himself as he watched the sun set from outside the window of his hospital room. Eddie hadn’t realized how lonely it would be without Venom. It felt like being seperated from a loved one.

Eddie stopped short at that comparison. A loved one? He had never considered it before, but now that he thought about it, it didn’t feel too strange. If anything it felt comforting. 

Eddie moved back to his hospital bed, intending on going to sleep a bit earlier than usual. However, sleep didn’t come easily. His mind was suddenly racing.

A loved one. What did that imply? For a while Eddie tried to convince himself that they had a familial bond, but it felt wrong. A romantic bond on the other hand…

Shaking his head, Eddie pulled the thin bed sheets up to his chest. He concluded that he wouldn’t be  _ opposed  _ to that kind of relationship with the symbiote. However, he wasn’t even sure if Venom would understand human romance. 

In the end he decided that it was too much to think over in one night. Plus, love was the last thing he wanted to spend his time mulling over, especially after everything that had happened. 

Still, despite his best efforts, he found himself lying awake for longer than he wanted, his mind occupied with thoughts of Venom. 

—

**“Anne, are you awake?”**

She was awake, and Venom knew that. Asking was just a polite gesture. 

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Anne turned over to look at Dan sleeping next to her, tired out from another long day at work. She carefully sat upright and snuck out of the bedroom, the hardwood floor beneath sending a cold chill up her body. 

“I’m here. What do you want to talk about?” Anne whispered as she made her way to the kitchen. 

**“We were thinking about this sickness.”**

“You and me both, Venom,” Anne said. 

**“How is it possible for us to be sick like this.”**

That was something Anne had wondered as well. Hanahaki was tied so deeply to human emotion. It wouldn’t make sense for an alien being to be susceptible to it. 

However, as she thought it over, it began to make sense. In many ways Venom had grown from the ravenous creature that first arrived on Earth. He had gained a sense for human emotion, and it was mostly thanks to Eddie. It made sense that he would eventually fall for his host, and it made even more sense that he wouldn’t know how to express those feelings.

**“We understand.”**

Anne could almost feel the symbiote following her thought process. It was probably easier this way. She didn’t want to talk more than she had to. The last thing Anne wanted was to wake Dan as she tried to explain the complexities of human and alien emotion.

“I guess you’re more human than you think, at least emotionally,” Anne said. 

**“Anne, we have done everything we can to protect Eddie, right?”**

“Yeah, I’m sure you have,” Anne said, a hint of confusion in her voice. “Why do you ask?” 

**“We healed him and saved him. We have fought together for so long now. It feels like forever even though it had been less than an Earth year.”**

“Yes, Venom. All of that is true. What are you trying to say?” Anne asked.

**“All those gestures… we thought they were enough. We thought we were showing our love for Eddie, but something was always missing, no matter how much we did.”**

“You never said it out loud.” Anne understood now. “You showered him with kind gestures but you never outright told Eddie you loved him. You never had the confirmation that he returned your feelings.”

**“Reciprocation.”**

Venom spat out the word as if it were a disease, and in this case, that response was warranted. 

**“Why must humans be so complicated? Important things like this are felt and shown, not said.”**

“You know that’s not entirely true. If it was, you wouldn’t have felt that there was something missing all this time,” Anne said. A long pause occurred before Venom finally spoke.

**“You are correct.”**

Venom responded in a defeated tone that sounded so wrong coming from him. It unsettled Anne, and after several moments of silence she assumed that signaled the end of the conversation. However as she stood up to return to bed Venom spoke again, this time with conviction.

**“We are ready to talk to Eddie.”**

Anne stopped short. She almost asked if the symbiote was sure, but he answered before the words even left her mouth.

**“Yes, we are sure, but we need to go, NOW!”**

Before Anne could even register the urgency in Venom’s voice she doubled over, her hands clutching the kitchen counter to steady herself. Pain bloomed in her chest and caused her to instinctively tense up, even though that only made it worse. 

At first she couldn’t even bring herself to cough. Instead she began wheezing, struggling to breath when every inhale caused excruciating pain. When she finally started coughing, the expulsion of flowers was immediate. 

She was able to focus just long enough to notice that they were still growing larger. Some even possessed leaves, which wreaked havoc on her throat compared to the plush petals. 

The fit was finally beginning to subside when she heard footsteps coming rapidly from the bedroom. She didn’t even have the strength to lift her head Dan when he entered the room, but she could hear the panic in his voice.

“Anne! Oh god, what the hell is going on?” He cried, despite the flowers being an obvious indicator. 

Even though her strength was completely gone and the pain still lingered in her throat, Anne didn’t panic. For the first time since this whole ordeal began, they had a clear plan of action. With a great deal of effort, she met Dan’s gaze. 

“Help me up,” she rasped, extending a shaky hand towards Dan. “We need to see Eddie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter will most likely be the final one. Thank you all for the comments, kudos, and feedback. I can’t express how much motivation it has given me! I hope you all have a great day or night.


	8. Chapter 8

A cacophony of alarmed shouts and fast paced steps suddenly rang out through the hospital’s observation wing. Eddie blinked his eyes open slowly, still weighed down with the remnants of sleep. After a few moments he sat up, wondering what all the commotion was about. At this point he could hear the nurses clearly.

“Miss, I’m sorry, but visiting time ended hours ago…Miss where are you going? Stop!”

The footsteps increased in speed to a full on sprint. Eddie sighed. Just an unruly visiter. Those were all too common in the hospital. He prepared to go back to sleep when he heard something else.

“Doctor Dan? You’re with her? …Oh, an emergency?”

That caught Eddie’s attention and his heart began to race as the footsteps drew nearer. 

‘Calm down, maybe it’s not you. Dan has to have other patients,’ He thought. 

His hopes were immediately shot down when the door to his hospital room flew open. Anne entered the room with Dan following close behind. She looked exhausted, but managed to smile through her fatigue.

The following moments were a surreal blur. Within a few seconds Anne informed Eddie that he was being discharged from the hospital, despite it being the middle of the night. Most of his questions were brushed off as Anne began to help him pack. The closest he got to an answer was when Dan stuck his head into the room to confirm what Anne had already said before retreating to deal with the staff in the hallway. 

“Anne, what’s going on?” Eddie asked during a brief moment of calm. “It’s the middle of the night. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy to finally get back home, but this seems off.”

“Nothing is wrong, it’s just,” Anne paused and for a moment she seemed deep in thought, as if she was choosing her words carefully, “it’s Venom.”

“What about him?” Eddie pressed on. Did something happen while Venom was with Anne? He prayed that he didn’t make her bite off any more heads. 

“Nothing happened, he didn’t get out of control or anything. I just don’t know how you handle it, a voice always in your head, reading your thoughts,” she pressed her palm to her forehead, emphasizing her words. 

“Oh,” Eddie said. He had grown used to Venom speaking almost constantly, but it seemed like Anne had a lower tolerance than him, and honestly he didn’t blame her. Something else seemed to be going on though. Anne seemed to hesitate, as if she wasn’t telling the whole story.

Eddie pushed those thoughts out of his mind for now, extending a hand towards Anne. She threw a cautious glance out the door before taking it. They watched as Venom transferred over, black and formless. 

Anne watched as a kind of warmth seemed to return to Eddie, his eyes brightening as he heard the symbiote’s voice for the first time in days.

**“We’re back, Eddie.”**

—

It was funny how desensitized Anne was to alien shenanigans at this point. Dan awkwardly glanced at the rear view mirror every time Eddie spoke to Venom from the backseat of the car, but Anne barely took notice. If anything she was glad to see Eddie so happy to have Venom back. 

Now she just had to pray that Venom would take her advice and confess.

When they dropped Eddie off at his apartment building he thanked them before quickly glancing around. The moment he saw that no one was nearby, he went back to talking to Venom. 

Anne and Dan offered a brief goodbye before pulling away in their car.

The two drove in silence for a few minutes and Anne felt herself drifting off before Dan’s voice brought her back to consciousness.

“Anne, what if Eddie doesn’t reciprocate?” He asked.

“Let’s not worry about that,” Anne said.

“Shouldn’t we have a backup plan?”

“A backup plan?” Anne snapped, “Like what? I don’t suppose you know how to remove Hanahaki from an alien’s body?” 

Dan shrank back slightly and Anne sighed.

“I’m sorry, I’m just so tired,” Anne said. “But I have confidence that Eddie will return Venom’s feelings.”

Anne had seen the look in Eddie’s eyes when Venom was returned to him. If that wasn’t love, she didn’t know what was. 

Dan nodded, deciding to focus fully on driving, and Anne was happy to accept that as the end of the conversation. She was thoroughly exhausted. It was so late, or maybe it was extremely early in the morning, but she didn’t even have the energy to pick up her phone and check. Either way she was content to sleep in the car until they arrived back home.

—

Eddie glanced up at his apartment building. Despite it being so late, he found that he had no desire to sleep. The euphoria of being reunited with Venom coupled with the freshness of the crisp night air had him feeling wide awake. 

He walked briskly around the corner of the building and was delighted to see his motorcycle had been returned to the lot. Eddie had been a bit worried about the vehicle during his stay in the hospital, so it was a relief to see that it had been taken care of. 

He made a mental note to thank Anne and Dan later. The engine revved up with a turn of the key. Maybe a bit of time on the road would tire him out enough to fall asleep tonight. 

At least that was the original plan. A bit of time on the road soon turned into an hour, and then an hour and a half. The empty streets of a city in the dead of night were simply too tempting to resist. 

It was incredibly peaceful. Even Venom wasn’t very talkative, but that was alright. It was enough for Eddie to just feel that the symbiote was with him. Honestly the quiet was a welcome presence after the chaos of the previous days. The lack of cars crowding the road was liberating, and Eddie soon lost track of how long he had been out.

He really didn’t care about anything other than the wind whipping against his helmet and the asphalt beneath the motorcycle tires. He didn’t even realize where he was going until Venom spoke up. 

**“Eddie, we met here.”**

The abandoned structure that was once the Life Foundation stood forebodingly down the street. No one worked there anymore, and it didn’t seem like they took any measures to prevent trespassing either. 

As Eddie slowly cruised through the empty parking lot he noticed a few instances of illegible graffiti and some short weeds growing through cracks in the pavement. It was incredible how quickly the place had become decrepit.

“This place gave us quite an adventure, huh?” Eddie said.

**“We almost died multiple times. Why do you speak of it so fondly?”**

“Well, like you said, I met you.”

Venom only made a flustered noise in response. 

The lights in the parking lot were out, but a healthy amount of moonlight gave the area a calming aura. Eddie admired the ethereal sight while, unbeknownst to him, Venom was struggling with flowers already trying to reroot in his host’s lungs. It was now or never.

**“Eddie. We have not been completely honest with you.”**

“What?” Eddie pulled his attention away from the moonlit lot, now fully focused on Venom. “What do you mean?”

**“Anne and Dan were lying when they said nothing was wrong. We lied when we said nothing bad happened while Anne was hosting us.”**

“Oh god, what happened? You didn’t eat Anne’s cat did you?” Eddie said, his mind racing between several worst case scenarios. 

**“No! It has nothing to do with her at all.”**

“Then what’s wrong?” Eddie asked, concern obvious in his voice. 

If Venom was human he would have taken a deep breath, counted backwards from ten, or done any other of the multitude of things humans did to calm their nerves. 

**“The flowers, they are still with us, and it is not your fault. It is us.”**

“What?” Eddie’s tone was a mix of horror and confusion; horror at the thought of the Hanahaki still being present, but confusion over Venom’s statement. The symbiote seemed to be implying that he was the one afflicted, not Eddie. 

“That can’t be possible.”

**“It is Eddie. We had suspected for a while, but it was only confirmed when Anne was affected. She started expelling flowers the day after we left you.”**

Eddie dismounted the motorcycle. The low rumble of the engine that had soothed him just moments ago was too much right now, especially with all the thoughts racing through his head. He opted to pace around the lot, trying desperately to wrap his mind around the situation.

“I don’t understand. You’re an alien. Who is it for?” He asked

There was no point hesitating.

**“You.”**

That brought Eddie to a halt. He stood there in the center of the parking lot as Venom continued,

**“We think- no, we know, we love you Eddie. We were confused too. We did not think it was possible, but there is no mistaking the way we feel for you, the way we care for you…”**

“Venom, it’s ok,” Eddie said, finally coming down from the roller coaster of emotions that he was just out through during the past few minutes. Horror, shock, and confusion, were mellowing out into a surreal calm. 

“I missed you so much, you know? I thought it was strange that our bond was that strong but, if this is how we feel…” Eddie drifted off. 

He knee Venom could sense what he felt. There was no need to say it out loud, but he felt like he should, especially after everything they had been through. It made it a declaration, something concrete and true. 

“What I’m trying to say is, I love you too.”

Eddie clutched his hands together in some strange approximation of an embrace. It was hard to convey physical affection to something with no physical form.

“Let me see you,” Eddie said. Before he even asked specks of black ichor were manifesting around his shoulder, stretching out and coalescing. 

Eddie had to keep himself from gasping. For the first time he realized he hadn’t actually seen Venom during this whole ordeal, and now he knew why. Along with the usual vein-like slivers of grey, roots had grown in a vascular pattern within Venom’s body. Flowers sprouted from between his fangs. His ever present grin was a sharp contrast with how painful the condition looked.

“Don’t be,” Eddie said, “It will get better soon. We will get better.”

He reached out tenderly to touch the flowers, and to his relief he found that some were already beginning to die off. With just a brush of his palm some of the 

petals came loose, falling gently to the ground. Still he felt tears pricking the corner of his eyes. How had they let it get this far?

“I wish you had told me sooner,” Eddie said, blinking the tears out of his eyes.

**“I am sorry.”**

Venom's mouth shrunk back until it was only a sliver in his ink-like skin. It was almost uncanny to see him without the symbiote without those needle sharp teeth. Seeing his chance, Eddie closed the gap between him and Venom. 

Kissing Venom wasn’t like kissing Anne. It wasn’t even like the kiss in the woods around the Life Foundation on that fateful night. This was all Venom, and Eddie decided in that moment that he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“Don’t be sorry” Eddie said, breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead against Venom’s, “We’re going to get through this. We’ll recover together, I promise.”

Neither of them were sure how long it would take for all the flowers to die out. It could take only a few days, or it could take months, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were with each other, and they would ride it out together for however long it took for the plants to die off and become a distant memory. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me for my first fic. I hope to write many more in the future, all of you are truly the best motivation I could ask for, love you all!


End file.
